1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a product quality information control method wherein information of an inspection department is fed back to a manufacture department to thereby stabilize the quality of resulting products. The present invention also relates to a display system for displaying such information.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a conventional product quality information control method, when an imperfection in a product is repaired, the repair position, repair contents and repair time are communicated to a control department for controlling the manufacturing line responsible for the occurrence of the imperfection. Then, the control department provides the manufacturing line with information relating to measures for preventing reoccurrence of such imperfection and records this, thereby stabilizing the quality of resulting products.
Automobiles, for example, are manufactured through a pressing process, a welding process, a painting process, a body assembly process and so forth. Manufacture control departments for controlling those processes perform their respective parts and assembly control operations.
Subsequently, an inspection department performs an outer appearance check, a function check and an adjustment operation in combination with the detection and repair of an imperfection, thereby maintaining the required product quality.
When an imperfection found by the inspection department is repaired, this is transmitted as repair information to an applicable manufacture control department where a measure against the imperfection is worked out. The measure information is reflected upon a responsible manufacturing line so that the imperfection is cured to thereby render the product quality stable. The repair and measure information is recorded at the manufacture control department for practical use in the succeeding manufacture of the products to keep the product quality stable.
The conventional product quality information control uses a database in which the geometric configurations of various areas or portions of an automobile and parts forming those areas are pre-stored. When an imperfection is found by the inspection department, an inspector takes a temporary measure to cure the imperfection. Thereafter, the inspector retrieves and selects from the database an imperfection position and related part or parts in an applicable area through a keyboard, inputs the state of the imperfection through the keyboard or the like, and specifies a manufacture control department controlling the imperfection position and related parts. Information on the imperfection is inputted into a personal computer or the like so that the imperfection position and related parts are communicated to the manufacture control department. Based on the communicated imperfection information, the manufacture control department works out an appropriate measure and inputs such measure information into the computer so that the measure can be put into practice.
However, it often becomes difficult for the manufacture control department to accurately grasp specifically what imperfection has occurred and what temporary measure has been taken, because the imperfection information from the inspector relates merely to the imperfection position and related parts and the state of the imperfection.
In certain instances, the inspector makes a sketch of the imperfection position and related parts, as well as the taken temporary measure. Normally, such sketch is delivered to the applicable manufacture control department after a day's inspection is over. As a result, many imperfections of the same nature occur in the resulting products. This provides the manufacture control department with many imperfection reports and temporary measures taken, thereby increasing man-hours of the inspector.